ARLINGTON, TEX – Tennessee baseball used a four-run second inning and strong pitching to achieve a narrow 4-3 win over Arizona State Saturday at Globe Life Field.
Tennessee starter Landon Mack weathered the storm in many high-leverage moments, while freshman lefty Cam Appenzeller got the final six outs to earn a gutsy save.
The crucial win snaps Tennessee’s three-game weekend losing streak and brings the Vols to 1-1 in Arlington.
Tennessee Jumps ASU Starter in the 2nd
Tennessee jumped Arizona State starting pitcher Colin Linder in the second inning.
Right-fielder Reese Chapman led off the frame with a single before Tyler Myatt doubled on the first pitch he saw to put runners on second and third.
Chris Newstrom continued his hot stretch by smoking a two-run double on the first pitch he saw. Henry Ford and Blaine Brown each connected for RBI singles after a Jay Abernathy walk to complete the four-run inning.
Extra-base hits started Tennessee’s big inning, but Ford and Brown’s crucial two-out hits gave Tennessee its sizable, early lead.
“Very important,” Tennessee head coach Josh Elander said about the second inning. “Thought the guys did a good job stringing together some good swings. I mean, (Colin) Linder has some good stuff… but it was good to see those guys just string them together, not trying to do too much, and getting the heater down a little bit, and leaning on together as a group.”
Linder exited the game after the fourth. In innings 1, 3 and 4, he cruised against Tennessee’s lineup, allowing two baserunners and no runs on 35 pitches. But a 29-pitch second inning in which he gave up four runs on five hits and two walks put Tennessee in a great spot early.
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Mack Weathers the Storm
Tennessee starting pitcher Landon Mack was not the best he’s been this season but weathered the storm on multiple occasions, as he often has this year.
Mack recorded 1-2-3 innings in the second and fifth but allowed multiple baserunners on the first, third and fourth.
In the first, Henry Ford and Chris Newstrom nicely turned 5-4-3 double play to thwart ASU’s threat.
Mack won back-to-back six-plus pitch battles against ASU’s PJ Moutzouridis and Nu’u Contrades with a pair of strikeouts in the third to strand runners at second and third.
The Sun Devils found more success against the Rutgers transfer in the fourth. A pair of one-out doubles scored ASU’s first run before a two-out single scored the second. Chapman made a great throw to Stone Lawless at home plate trying to beat the runner, but Dean Toigo was able to sneak his hand in and touch home before Lawless applied the tag.
ASU proceeded to load the bases thanks to a walk and hit-by-pitch, creating a big moment for Mack with two outs.
As he’d done all day, Mack weathered the storm and induced a groundout to strand all three.
Mack’s day was done after a 1-2-3 fifth inning. The sophomore allowed two runs on a season-high seven hits, walked one and struck out five.
“I just didn’t think he gave in at all,” Elander said on Mack’s outing. “He did a good job of – he’s got a really good pickup move, as you guys have seen – but holding runners and attacking the strike zone. Three or four pitches, I thought he threw some good curve balls to lefties, but some good 3-2 off-speed pitches. And then also, too, when he had to throw heaters by guys, he was able to do that today.”
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Strong Relief Pitching, Crucial Insurance Run Pushes Tennessee to Finish Line
Offense was hard to come by in the later innings Saturday.
Arizona State reliever Alex Overbay took the mound to begin the fifth and largely dominated Tennessee’s lineup in his three-inning outing. Three more ASU arms – including former Vol Derek Schaefer – saw time on the mound.
Against Schaefer, Tennessee was able to score a crucial insurance run in the ninth. A Blaine Brown leadoff double caused ASU to go to the bullpen to bring in Schaefer. After Brown reached third on a wild pitch, Levi Clark battled back from down 0-2 and sent a sac fly to right field on a full count for a crucial insurance run.
“A big assist goes to Levi Clark,” Elander said after the game. “Facing a former Vol (Derek Schaefer) out there, grinding through an at-bat and finding a way to get that run in, I think that’s a humongous run right there
On the mound, Knoxville native Brady Frederick relieved Mack to begin the sixth. The junior allowed one unearned run in the seventh thanks to a defensive mistake but was solid overall.
Freshman lefty Cam Appenzeller recorded the final six outs to earn the save. Appenzeller got a massive pair of outs to strand a pair of runners in the eighth before recording a 1-2-3 ninth.
“He’s got really good stuff,” Elander said on Appenzeller. “I mean, he’s always been a guy that’s gonna attack the strike zone and give you a chance… It was really cool to see Appy today. He was really good.”
ASU’s third and final run scored off a sac fly in the seventh, which was set up after Lawless committed a throwing error trying to catch a runner stealing second.
But the sophomore catcher’s error was a blip on the radar for Tennessee’s day. Henry Ford logged three assists and played well defensively. Manny Marin tallied five assists and made a few tricky plays look easy.
After committing two or more errors in its last three losses, Tennessee’s primarily clean day defensively was a welcomed sight.
Up Next
Tennessee will look to go 2-1 in Arlington with a win over Virginia Tech Sunday. First pitch is at 11:30 a.m. ET. FloCollege has the stream.
